gwynn t robinson frps The Final Image digital photography and visual art What is the difference between digital photography and visual art in a photographic sense? gwynn robinson argues that both involve thought, and can involve the application of manipulation skills. the difference is in the intention and in the ultimate result. in his article, he develops his argument with the aid of an example. i have been considering the difference between digital photography and visual art. at a cursory level, for many people, both involve manipulation and messing around with photographic images and they might appear to be the same. But this is completely wrong. digital photography is the application of all things digital to the art of photography, which may or may not involve image manipulation. digital photography can be represented by a straight shot through to a somewhat abstracted image. however, the original image (or intention) remains paramount. a considerable amount of thought and care is involved in creating good digital imagery. What of visual art? this is the application of artistic thought to a photographic scene to express and idea, feeling, thought or concept. this could be a straight shot or it could be manipulated to a totally abstracted image. the thinking here is around the communication of the artistic idea. so what is the difference? Both involve thought and can involve the application of manipulation skills. the difference is in the intention and in the ultimate result. digital photography is primarily aimed at producing a photographic image using any digital means. visual art is all about expression and communication as the driving force and the ultimate goal. the prime aim is relating an artistic idea. the original image in visual art may be lost to the artistic need. What we are not talking about is the amount of manipulation as both types of photography can involve none or floods of image adjustment. an example will help. Come with me on a wintery journey like no other 20 rps visual art Magazine autumn 2011
Figure 1 Christmas 2009 was one of the coldest since 1820! We live about half a mile from the sea. We cannot view it directly and have to walk over a hill to get to it. The hill is very dangerous when it is so icy. On day 1 we had about 8 inches of snow. We went out for about 6 hours photographing everything that we could find that was interesting. It was exhausting and great fun. On day 2 it turned much colder (-8 o C) but we ventured out again for a few hours to see what the town and seashore might now look like. This was no trivial exercise as it was not just bitterly cold but even more dangerous as everything had turned into ice covered with a new layer of snow. We could have stayed home in the warm but we would have missed the most amazing scenes. It was hard and slow work getting over the hill and across the seashore. Every step was treacherous. It took us hours to get to the same places we had been the day before. It was worth the effort. We didn t know if we would be wasting our RPS Visual Art Magazine Autumn 2011 time before we set out. It was our hope that there would be good images to be captured. Sometimes we just have to put in the effort and trust that we may be able to produce good results. The scenes that awaited us out at the end of the pier were extraordinary. The journey to it was extremely scary. Even though the ground was mostly flat it was frozen and as slippery as well ice. We had a great time. The ice was unstable and very slippery but most of the snow from the day before had gone. Of all of the images taken in those two days it is an image taken from the end of the pier (Figure 1) that inspired a move into visual art. It just felt like we were standing at the North Pole. What do you imagine when you look at Figure 1? It conjured up feelings and thoughts within me of the Antarctic, cold, storms, emptiness, disaster and of being lost. My mind and imagination were about a million miles ahead of the original image. Somehow, I had to turn that image into a new scene that expressed my feelings and thoughts, which could involve a great deal of effort. This is the point. It is very easy at this stage to think that it would not be a fun exercise to put in so much effort but it always is. Expressing yourself is always liberating. One more important point, I did not see the visual art possibilities in depth whilst I was out capturing the images, I was so absorbed by getting as many interesting images as possible at the location and absorbed by the feeling of the place. Perhaps seeing other possibilities on location, is another stage in my own photographic and artistic development deeper involvement. Much of finding the way through from concept to the final image is done by experimentation and thought; by trying things out. New ideas need an open mind receptive to all possibilities and to new directions as they emerge. Sometimes trying out an idea or a filter or a manipulation will spark off a new set of possibilities, so it is always worth playing with an image. Starting with Figure 1 and with the idea 21
gwynn T ROBInSOn FRPS Figure 2 Figure 5 Figure 3 Figure 6 Figure 4 and concept outlined, what would you think of and how would you change the image and move it forwards? Consider this a little before reading on. What would you do? Perhaps you have some ideas but do not know how to implement them? That comes down to learning new techniques and practice. There is no getting away from the hard work involved in honing the skills required. I started off this particular journey by adding people that I had photographed on the same day into the base image just to add (or change) the scale of things and add interest (Figure 2). This was a good start but it was actually much better with just the single distant walker but I was not keen. I toyed with the idea of a boat being caught up in the ice adding an interesting focal point. I had a few images of broken boats from a trip to Oban I knew that I could select and use. I made two starting images but one in particular seemed to offer the best way forward. Figure 3 is the first boat attempt, which I quite liked. The ice flow led directly to the boat. As an image, it holds together well. I would hang it on my wall. Figure 4 shows the second boat image. As things stand, I prefer the first boat image. But I had plans for this second one. It was much stronger. The boat was more interesting and it led towards more interesting possibilities. To make the image feel more isolated I adjusted it to look as though we were viewing the scene at night an emptier and more lonely part of any day (Figure 5). A time that almost forces us to reflect on things. I also tried adding a person walking across the ice towards the boat (Figure 6) but I felt that that although it was a good image it was not right for where I was going. What do you think? It certainly adds a sense of balance. I like it. This led me towards creating a sort of ghost ship which I played with (Figure 7). It turned out to be a dead end as it was not really moving in the direction that I was originally considering, but it was fun to create. I like this too. It tells such a story and leaves so much open and unsaid. It is certainly more interesting but I had diverted temporarily away 22 RPS Visual Art Magazine Autumn 2011
Figure 7 Figure 9 Figure 8 Figure 10 from the original journey. No matter. It was fun and I had created a new series of images. It wasn t really a diversion but a new set of images another direction. Back onto the original track. I considered the ice could be perhaps floating on freezing water and perhaps also being part of a huge wave in which the ship was moving. I also added two people to the boat which I am not sure helped (Figure 8). What do you think? The bending of the ship and ice is initially quite a visual and perceptual shock but it adds to the drama. It grows on you and becomes appealing. It is very graphic and much more in tune with the message that I was trying to express deep, dark, freezing ocean waves. This I felt was the right direction but it lacked a few important elements. One of which was the fact that the sea was one dimensional, and needed some depth. The next image (Figure 9) shows what I did to try to sort that aspect out. To complete the image, I felt that it needed a sense of mystery. I replaced the people (who I never liked), with just one person looking out with binoculars, and added a lifebelt into the water presuming someone perhaps lost in the cold dark sea (Figure 10). Now the ice became much more menacing and worse, the man looking for his friend is looking into an empty sea, possibly into the wrong direction. The lifebelt is on its own. Chilling. I had tried adding a person into the sea along with the lifebelt but the image lost its sense of mystery and gained a sense of RPS Visual Art Magazine Autumn 2011 Figure 11 immediate horror. Not what I had intended or wanted. I returned to my original theme of cold, dark, lost and added thick ice onto the frozen boat (figure 11).This image is a long way from the original captured scene. It conveys a sense of drama, isolation, desperation, mystery, fear, hopelessness, etc. Opinion was divided regarding the ice as it was so prominent. What do you think. Does the effect grow on you? This will not be to everyone s taste, however, along the journey there will be an image for nearly everyone to enjoy. 23
gwynn T ROBINSON FRPS Figure 12 What sort of effort did all of this take? Two days in the freezing cold, a week in Scotland last summer, five days of computer work. Was it worth it? For me a definite yes. I enjoyed capturing the images. I enjoyed creating something new, unique and expressive. I have even enjoyed describing the journey taken. The message to take from this article is five fold. Firstly, keep an open mind and experiment with your images. Imagine where your images might lead in an abstracted way. Experiment by trying to express what you feel. The second message is more mundane. Keep all of your old images. You never know when you might need a part of one of them in a new image. The third message, is to hone your manipulation skills as they can be invaluable in helping you express yourself more easily. Fourthly, ensure that every single part of the image that you create is to the highest quality, without faults and ensure that all of your edges are smooth. Ensure that you keep your images as separated layers so that you can go back and readjust them later on if needed. Lastly, ensure that the scale, brightness and lighting of all parts of the image suit their purpose and add to the reality that you are trying to create. I couldn t resist adding a seagull to the scene. I don t know how they do it but even in the wildest storms there always seems to be a seagull flying just above the waves seemingly in perfect calm. The positioning and scaling of the gull was quite difficult (Figure 12). I then added a storm raged edge to the rising wave, St Elmo s fire, some frozen mist and finally heavy rain. Each part adding depth to the final image and each pushing the prominent ice more into its correct perspective in the scene. It seems to have worked well. But what do you think? My favourite image of the complete series is the image shown at the start of the article The final image. I repositioned the seagull and added some sea mist. It provides the greatest number of questions and possibilities leaving the mind to wander and wonder. I like the juxtaposition of the calm seagull in its element against an fighting boat and the lifebelt signifying ourselves sometimes out of our element, lost in a cold dark world, trying to forge our way through the storms, icebergs and deep waves. A simple expression and a simple artistic message. Not all art has to be deep, subtle, Nobel prize winning theories. It just has to express what you feel and think.i feel that this image says a lot about life. Bits and pieces in tatters and life ravaged, but basically sound with the wisdom of weathering, still seeking that peaceful solid ground, elusively somewhere out there. Battered but interesting because of that. Or perhaps you see yourself as the bird. At peace and at ease in your turbulent surroundings, maybe leading those more ravaged into peaceful safer waters. Or perhaps you are the icy waters, supporting everything, cleansing all, sifting the chaff. Or maybe you feel that you are the stars or the moon, stable, constant, dark but holding everything together. But what do we make of the empty lifebelt. Is that your last hope or is it the emptiness of broken promises? The more you look the more you think. The more you think the more you feel. The more you feel the more you see. As for myself I try to be the bird but sometimes I feel like the boat. Does this image relate to your life? Lastly, I would like to encourage you to enjoy experimenting with your images, and above all enjoy expressing your feelings through them. Become more involved with your images, develop the skills that you need and free the artist within you. 24 RPS Visual Art Magazine Autumn 2011